


Our Shifting Eyes Meet

by whoovestrings



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Emissary! Taako AU, M/M, istus and the raven queen are there also, non-canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-04 11:03:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18342368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whoovestrings/pseuds/whoovestrings
Summary: The Centennial Ball is in full swing, but not everyone has made it on time. The Raven Queen Worries, Kravitz is gay, and Taako isn't quite used to immortality.





	Our Shifting Eyes Meet

**Author's Note:**

> The New Orleans liveshow all but rendered this fic obsolete, but who cares about canon when you can have fancy parties.

Music played, voices chattered, and lights made the room glow softly. It was the gods' biggest party of the century, and Kravitz was bored. Formal gatherings had never really been Kravitz's "thing". Sure, he kept up the prim and proper gentleman act, but truthfully, if he had to make small talk and dance with people he didn't particularly like, or have snacks that weren't particularly good, at the very least he would appreciate a necromancy bust at the end of it. There was a reason he wasn’t given a desk job.

And worst of all, Istus was late.

The Raven Queen was worried, in a way that wouldn't be noticeable if you hadn't worked for Her for years on end. Her wings were slightly fluffed out, She spoke more casually, and She jumped from conversation topic to conversation topic so much that Kravitz had a hard time keeping up. Istus had never been late, as far back as Kravitz could remember, so The Raven Queen's concern wasn't unprecedented.

"My Queen, I'm sure She's fine," Kravitz said, after The Raven Queen had started criticising the music playing. She looked at him, and sighed.

"I really can't get anything past you, can I?" She said.

"Istus said She had a new emissary in her ranks, chances are they're just getting used to not being mortal anymore."

"What, do you think they're having trouble manifesting an outfit?" The Raven Queen chuckled, "having trouble tying their ethereal tie? Or was that just you?" Kravitz recognised the Queen was making fun of him, but let it slide. She was distracted, after all.

"Maybe they're having trouble with the transportation system," he continued, "or was that also just me?"

The Raven Queen did not have a chance to continue the bit, as there was a loud cheer as Istus finally arrived. One god, Kravitz could never keep track of all of them, made Their way up to the front of the room to formally begin the event, and crack a few jokes about inter-planer public transport. Kravitz followed dutifully behind as The Raven Queen crossed the ballroom to greet Her partner? Wife? They had never mentioned the status of their relationship, and Kravitz partially doubted that gods could even get married. His internal debate lasted all of three seconds once he actually saw who Istus was with. The new emissary.

He was an elf. Slightly taller than Kravitz, with tan skin flecked with freckles, and long brown hair done in an intricate system of braids. Bright purple eyes seemed to light up his face, and his long, loose dress - white, shot through with threads that shifted colour in the light - somehow seemed dignified. His grin when he spotted Kravitz, was anything but.

"Like what you see, handsome?" He stepped away from Istus, beckoning for Kravitz to do the same. Kravitz glanced at The Raven Queen, who looked back and nodded, before returning to Her conversation. The man started walking around the hall, seemingly with no goal in mind.

“I'm Taako, by the way. Istus’s boy.” He said.

“Kravitz, The Raven Queen’s head Reaper, charmed.” Kravitz held his hand out for a handshake. “Why are we leaving our gods when th-” he stopped dead when Taako, instead of accepting the handshake, took Kravitz’s hand and kissed it.

“I think that's a very viable reason.” Taako laughed in a way Kravitz hoped was good-natured. “Anyway. I'm new, in case you hadn't noticed. What's the big deal about this place? Is it just the fantasy Met Gala, or are the chairs gonna be rearranged into a debate circle at some point? Is this food edible by non gods?”

“Edible perhaps, but not palatable,” Kravitz said, earning another snort from Taako.

“Hey, I used to be a chef when I was alive, I'll put these to the test.” Taako passed a long table, taking food seemingly at random and putting it on a plate he presumably conjured, because Kravitz didn't see where he could have gotten it. He tasted a small biscuit based snack and recoiled almost comically.

“Oh that's garbage!” Taako thankfully kept his voice low enough to not disturb the other guests. “Isn't there a god of cooking that could have made this decently?”

“You're thinking of the goddess of the harvest, and she's been real busy these last few weeks.”

Taako hmm-ed, and went back to tasting the snacks. By the look on his face, they were all bad, but some not as much as others. Taako was obviously quite an experienced chef, because he could identify the dishes and critique them in a way Kravitz didn't quite think was possible. He found a plate of macaroons? Macarons? He didn't seem too sure on the pronunciation, but he said they were the best made out of the bunch.

By the time Taako had systematically gone through the snack table and given everything a review and a rating (on a seemingly arbitrary scale), the speeches were over, and the music continued. “Thank You, Taako.” Kravitz said, “I've never been able to sit through that without being bored out of my mind.”

“Glad to serve as a distraction, my man,” Taako said, “what's your job around here anyway?”

“I'm a reaper for The Raven Queen. I take souls over to the astral plane when they die, and deal with rogues and necromancers.”

“Ooh, creepy. Suits you.” Taako searched through his pockets for a pair of white opera gloves. “I just help out Istus, I guess. I don't think she's entirely certain what to do with an assistant right now, but she assures me that she’ll get there.” He leant back against one of the chairs, that had been cast aside to make room for a large dance floor, and looked at Kravitz, surprisingly downcast.

“Did you want to do anything while you were alive?” He asked.

“I wanted to be a conductor,” Kravitz said, taking the chair next to Taako.

“Music, or train?”

“Music,” Kravitz chuckled, “though I wouldn't be opposed to the train idea either. Why do you ask?”

“It's just, I didn't think I'd be here.” Taako said, “being at a fancy party? Meeting a handsome prince? Yeah I've had that fantasy a million times over, but under these circumstances? Where most of the other guests are gods, and I'm dead? Never thought I'd be here.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Kravitz said, trying to smoothly glide over the ‘handsome prince’ thing, “none of us do. But you work with fate, right? Not everything goes how we planned, or how we expected, but that's not to say things turned out bad.”

Taako looked up, and over Kravitz’s shoulder, looked momentarily surprised, and then got up. “Don't look now,” he whispered, “but Istus and The Queen are spying on us.” He reached down to take Kravitz’s hand, which he gladly accepted, and pulled him towards the dance floor. Before Kravitz could protest, they had disappeared amongst the crowd of people. Taako stepped in close and places his hand on Kravitz's waist. Kravitz took the hint and started a simple dance, though Taako didn't seem to be putting in more than the bare minimum of effort.

“Sorry, I just - I don't want to talk it out with a goddess right now.” He said. “I think I'm still more accustomed to mortals, or, well, ex-mortals.”

They kept dancing, in a silence that, to Kravitz’s surprise, never got awkward. Taako slowly lost himself to the music and got more and more into the dance, and Kravitz tried his best to lead them away from The Raven Queen and Istus, and eventually out the other side of the dance floor. Kravitz let go of Taako's hand, and was relieved when he saw that he was still smiling.

“You are a strange fellow, Taako,” Kravitz said, “you can't just act like you want to lead me in a slow dance, and then expect to be lead into a waltz.”

“What can I say,” Taako replied, “nerves.” He hesitated, before a slow smile crept to his face. “Hey, how often have you been here?”

“A few times, why?”

“How well do you know this place, or more accurately, how well do you know places in here that are quiet and away from prying eyes. If you're up for it, I'd love to go somewhere and get rid of these nerves in a more direct way.” Realisation dawned on Kravitz, and he took Taako’s hand again, taking him to a side corridor, that lead to an unused kitchen, all while futilely attempting to ignore Taako’s laughs.

The shutting of a door was the last that The Raven Queen and Istus saw of Their emissaries for a while. Istus laughed and patted The Raven Queen on the back.

“Listen, you can't win all of them,” She said, “besides, I know Taako. He's always been like this.”

“Are you sure?” The Raven Queen asked, “I don't want meetings between us to be ruined by unresolved tension in our emissaries.”

“No,” Istus reassured Her, “I've known Taako for some time now. They're going to stick together for a good long while.”

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr link](http://tmvagabond.tumblr.com/post/184115598298/our-shifting-eyes-meet)


End file.
